The first group walked in silence, not tipping off whether they had just won or lost as they walked from the field to their dressing room. A couple of players started laughing at something one of them said.

Brandon Stokley, the Broncos' ageless slot receiver, shook his head in the way guys do when they get away with something. Stokley smiled as he nodded, lifted his left index finger and dropped it from top to bottom.

"Mark it down," Stokley said.

All wins count the same, no matter how uninspired the Broncos' 17-9 victory appeared Sunday against the inspired but pitiful Kansas City Chiefs.

"It wasn't peaches 'n' cream," Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil said at Arrowhead Stadium. "But we knew it would be tough coming in here. They got a lot of good players over there. They've got a lot of guys who have been to the playoffs."

This was one of those games where the Broncos seemed flat. Maybe some were a little full of turkey, stuffing and news clippings. A few might have been heartsick from hearing that the father of defensive end Robert Ayers passed away Saturday night. Or maybe this simply was a desperate group of Chiefs giving their all at home against a division rival.

"It's never going to be pretty playing this team in this place," said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. "You might get lucky once in a while and get some turnovers and jump out on them. But they've got good players now. You can't come in here and think you're going to walk out with a win without fighting for it."

What the Broncos did have Sunday on a comfortable, late November afternoon at Arrowhead was the better team and a really good quarterback.

Peyton Manning passed one concussion test and threw for two touchdowns while picking up his 149th career regular-season win. That's one more victory than former Broncos quarterback John Elway, the team's current football operations boss, and the second-most in NFL history.

"I'm glad he got it sooner rather than later, put it that way," Elway said, smiling.

The Broncos solidified their large lead in the AFC West by winning their sixth in a row and improving to 8-3. Kansas City is locked in the AFC West basement with a 1-10 record after losing its eighth straight.

The flow of Sunday's game, though, made it difficult to tell which team is going where at regular season's end. Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel demonstratively chewed out his offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, a couple of times early in the game. Yet in their dysfunctional manner, the Chiefs were competing.

"They didn't turn the ball over," said Broncos defensive tackle Justin Bannan. "They had been leading the league in turnovers. If you don't turn the ball over in this league, it's going to be a close game."

Indeed, the Chiefs entered the game leading the league by a wide margin with 31 giveaways. They were extremely conservative offensively against Denver. A run on first down, run on second down and punt on fourth down didn't seemed to bother them.

But they made the Broncos beat them when so many other times this season the Chiefs beat themselves.

Playing against quarterback Brady Quinn, a former teammate, the Broncos were gouged early by Kansas City's running game that was complemented with short, move-the-sticks passes.

The Chiefs took a 6-0 lead on two field goals by Ryan Succop in the first quarter, and it stayed that way until late in the half when Manning finished a 94-yard drive by hitting tight end Jacob Tamme with a 7-yard touchdown pass 18 seconds from intermission.

The Broncos have scored with six, one, zero and 18 seconds left in the first half this season. After his TD throw to Tamme, though, Manning was tackled to the ground by Chiefs defensive end Tyson Jackson. The back of Manning's helmet slammed to the turf. Manning wound up taking, and clearing, a concussion test at halftime and he had precautionary X-rays after the game.

"OK," Manning said curtly when asked how he came out of the blow to the head.

Manning never missed a snap, and after the Chiefs went up 9-7 midway through the third quarter, he mixed uncannily accurate passes with Knowshon Moreno runs to put the Broncos back on top. A beautifully thrown 30-yard pass from Manning to Demaryius Thomas down the left sideline put the Broncos ahead 14-9.

In time, the Broncos would walk up to the tunnel not only to the visiting team's locker room, but to the winning locker room.

"I'm not going back home and saying, 'Dang, that was a close one," ' Dumervil said. "I'm saying, '8-3, baby.' We've been spoiling everybody with some blowouts. Sometimes you've got to win tough."

OffenseThe Chiefs' defense has driven less patient quarterbacks a little crazy this year, but Peyton Manning kept his cool after an early turnover and running back Knowshon Moreno played well.

DefenseThis unit was short on style points. Allowing 148 yards rushing is never worth a parade, but it's hard to be critical of a defense that didn't give up a touchdown.

Special teamsTrindon Holliday had kickoff returns of 50 and 42 yards, but kicker Matt Prater missed two field-goal attempts and Jim Leonhard muffed a punt he was fortunate to get back deep in Broncos territory.

CoachingPlenty of Denver teams have played at Arrowhead Stadium and lost. This time, the Broncos refused to lose and went home 8-3 with a six-game winning streak.

Game balls

WR Demaryius Thomas — Topped 1,000 yards for the season (1,015) with four receptions and a touchdown.

RB Knowshon Moreno — Hadn't been in uniform since Sept. 17, but he provided 85 yards rushing and didn't turn the ball over.

LB Wesley Woodyard — A personal foul penalty might cost him some money, but he led the Broncos with nine tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story